College: The Good Life
by lizzierae
Summary: "They say college is the best time of your life, but so far, all I've experienced is no sleep, bad grades, and losing my best friends." Logan's off to UCLA! Can he handle it?
1. Last Day As A Non-College-Student

_Hello there, you beautiful people! So, it's been like forever and a day since I've written anything, so I decided to start a little something. I myself am experiencing college for the first time, so I thought I'd give our boys their own college experience. Well, Logan, anyway. Since he'd actually be the one to go to college. Not so sure about the other three. We'll be with Logan throughout the craziness that is college, and this is only the beginning! I really hope you guys enjoy this! Tell me what you think! (:_

_I, as always, don't own anything._

Logan Mitchell was always good at school. He loved learning. He loved studying. He even loved homework. He loved everything about school. So when the boys graduated from the Palm Woods School and received their high school diplomas, there was no doubt about it that Logan would soon be off to college. While Kendall, James, and Carlos all decided to stay away from school at least for one year so they could focus on their music and relax for a while, Logan planned to start studying pre-med at the University of California, Los Angeles, better known as UCLA. It seemed like the perfect place to study. He could still live with the boys and be a part of Big Time Rush, while simultaneously going to school to become a doctor, just like he'd always planned. The only difference was where he went to school. He'd always wanted to go to school somewhere in Minnesota, so he wouldn't be too far away from home and the people he loved. But he figured UCLA was just as good a school as any.

So when the end of August finally came around, Logan was just as excited for his first day of school as he was when he was in kindergarten. It was planned that he would have class from 8:30 till 3:30 every day, which he could _totally_ handle. It would be just like school back in Minnesota—seven whole hours of learning (with a break or two in between)! Needless to say, Logan Mitchell was excited. And school couldn't have come at a better time for him. Every once in a while, Logan got really stressed out with all the work with the band—okay, maybe it was a little more than once in a while—and school was a sort of escape for him. He liked school—maybe a little more than most people his age—, he was good at it. But school was more than just something he was good at. In a way, it made him think of home. It reminded him that, despite the fact that he was ¼ of "America's favorite boy band," he was still that nerdy kid from Sherwood, Minnesota.

The only thing that he didn't like about the fact that he would be attending UCLA this semester was the fact that his best friends wouldn't be there with him. Since he was in third grade, at least one of them had been by his side in every single class he had. Now, they'd be either doing band stuff without him or just hanging around at home while he was in class. The fact that he'd be in class didn't bother him as much as being without Kendall, James, and Carlos did.

But said boys, being Logan's best friends, were determined to make Logan's last day as a "not-college-student" one of the best. What did that mean? A Palm Woods wide party, of course! Kendall, James, and Carlos had been planning the event for weeks, and they'd even gotten Mr. Bitters on board with the whole thing. He claimed he only allowed the party to take place because he was "excited to see one of the hockey heads leave this place," but they all knew it was because Logan was his favorite out of all the boys.

So here the boys were, getting ready for their brother's going away party.

"You guys, I'm not _going _anywhere—I'm just going to be going to school," Logan told the boys for the millionth time as he watched Carlos and James attempt to hang up a "We'll Miss You, Logie!" banner above the Palm Woods pool.

"We _know _that, Logan—we're just really going to miss you being around all the time," Kendall stated, coming up next to his best friend and wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"Yeah, since you're ditching us for school and all," James continued, sending a playful glare Logan's way.

"I am not ditching you guys! I'm going to college for a few hours a week. I'm not even moving out or anything, and it's not like UCLA is very far away."

"_Ditching_!" James sing-songed.

"_Drama queen_!" Logan answered, eliciting laughs from both Carlos and Kendall.

"Okay, no fighting on Logie's last day as a not-college-student," Kendall told the two, moving to help his mother, who had just entered the pool area with Katie, bringing out some of the party food for the evening.

"You know that makes no sense, right? A not-college-student?" Logan declared.

"Dude, stop being smart, just for tonight," Carlos tried to convince the smart boy. "It'll be fun, I promise!"

Logan rolled his eyes at his friend, but when the night and the party finally began, he took Carlos' advice fully. No "being smart" (or at least too smart) just for tonight, and everything was great. And the next day, he would start the rest of his life. College. _The good life._


	2. College Will Be Different

_2 … Hiii. So. Um. Chapter two. Sorry this took forever. Horray!_

_I don't own anything you may recognize._

…

Text books?

Check.

Money for lunch?

Check.

Pens, pencils, and other necessities?

Check.

Cell phone?

Check.

He was finally ready.

Logan looked at his reflection in his bedroom mirror. He looked good. He wore one of his sweater vests and blue jeans, and a smile on his face. Today was his first day of school. His first day of _college_. It wasn't just another "first day." It was the start to the rest of his life. College was different than high school. He could be as nerdy as he wanted, and everyone would be cool with it. He didn't have to impress anyone. He didn't have to live up to anyone's expectations.

That made Logan smile even more.

"You ready, buddy?" Logan heard from the doorway of his room. He looked over at the sound of Kendall's familiar voice, and noticed the blond boy standing with James and Carlos. The three of them decided that they were going with Logan to his first day of school, whether he liked it or not. They wanted to be there, just in case someone picked on their Logie. They'd protected the boy since the third grade, and they weren't about to stop now, just because it was college.

"You guys really don't need to come with me today. It's college—people don't pick on each other there," Logan claimed for what felt like the millionth time that week.

"We're just looking out for you, dude," James stated simply. "Now let's go." He swung the keys to the Big Time Rush Mobile around his finger.

"Fine," Logan grumbled, and the four boys were off to UCLA's campus.

When they arrived, Logan couldn't believe his eyes. There were students everywhere, and campus was absolutely huge. As he looked at all of the students, he noticed that everyone wore a smile on their face. That made Logan even happier than he'd been before. This was college. This was where students like himself actually wanted to learn. He didn't have to deal with cocky, jerky guys who were just there because they had to be. College was different than high school. These people's parents were making them attend their 8:30 a.m. classes on a Monday morning. It was just for students who wanted to be there. Students like _him_.

"Okay, so, call if you need anything," Kendall started, acting very much like Logan's father, if he did say so himself. "You know our numbers. You've got your cell phone, right?" Logan nodded. "We'll be here at 2:30 to come get you, and…umm…have fun, good buddy!" He gave Logan a cheeky smile, though he had to admit, he'd miss the genius. Sure, he didn't have to worry about schoolwork or anything himself, but hanging out with James and Carlos and not Logan all day was going to be weird, he could tell. But, he knew going to college, attending med-school, and becoming a doctor were all a part of Logan's life-long dream, so he smiled and encouraged the boy to go for it, because _opportunities like this come once in a lifetime_.

"Have fun, Logie! We'll miss ya!" Carlos added from the back seat of the car. "We love you, dude."

"Yeah, we love you, bro, have fun being a nerd, and let us know if you need anything at all," James continued, moving from the backseat to the passenger seat of the car. He flipped his hair out of his face and told Logan, "Seriously. Just say the word, and we'll come get you, man."

Logan gave a grin and nodded, "Thanks, guys. I love you too, but seriously, I'll be fine. I'll see you guys at 2:30 sharp!"

"Yeah, and we can grab a corndog and a smoothie after your first day!" Carlos said excitedly. After previous first days of school, the four boys had a tradition of getting corndogs and smoothies. That didn't stop once they moved to L.A., and it wouldn't stop now that Logan was in college.

Logan laughed and replied, "Okay. I'll see you then." And like that, he gave a small wave, and turned around and walked to his very first class of his college career.

Hearing his best friends drive away in the Big Time Rush Mobile, Logan got an even bigger smile on his face. It wasn't that he didn't love them—they were his best friends, of course he did—he just felt like they babied him a lot. He was always much more shy than his friends, and got picked on a lot for his love of school and knowledge. When normal 8-year-olds were playing tag and swinging on the swings and sliding on the slides at recess, Logan Mitchell was reading a book under a tree. He'd always been different. He'd always loved school.

In this moment, however, Logan felt a new sense of himself. He felt independent…_free_. He didn't have to worry about those bullies he'd had to put up with through grade school, junior high, and high school, because there were none of them in college. And even though he loved his best friends to death, he was excited to be rid of them as well (at least for the school day). He could stand up on his own, be his own person. He wasn't just going to be looked at as "that smart kid that plays hockey, and hangs out with Kendall Knight, Carlos Garcia, and James Diamond all the time." He was just Logan Mitchell. And Logan Mitchell was ready to start his life.

So he walked to the building that held his very first class. He stood outside of it and admired it for a bit. It was huge and old-looking. It was just how he imagined it would be. And as he climbed those big steps to this huge building, Logan knew he was in the right place.

…

_Wow, I'm really sorry this chapter's shitty, you guys. I honestly was going to make it better, but then I realized it would make more sense to put Logan's actual school day in the next chapter. He'll meet some new friends and learn that college rocks…for the moment. I promise I'll update soon! 2 weeks, tops, I promise. You can virtually kick my butt if I forget, because this long wait is just unacceptable._

_Also, I really didn't feel like re-reading this, because I hate it that much, so I'm sorry for any spelling/grammar/"that makes no sense" mistakes!_

_That being said, have a wonderful day!_


	3. An Unexpected First Day

_Hey there! Chapter…three? I think three. Well, I hope this didn't take too long! I didn't really feel like editing, so I hope there's no major mistakes. And if there is, I'm so, so sorry! Enjoy! :)_

_I own nothing you may recognize._

Logan entered the classroom to his very first class. No one was there yet, like he expected, so he smiled and made his way to the front of the classroom. The room was the size of an average classroom that he'd had back in Minnesota. It wasn't a big lecture, like he'd have later in the day. He guessed there would be about 30 students in this first economics class.

He sat at a desk at the front of the classroom. A smile couldn't help but spread across his face. It felt right to be here.

One by one, students started entering the classroom. Logan was starting to get anxious. He knew he was excited about learning and making new friends and having the full college experience (while simultaneously living his normal life as a part of Big Time Rush), but things were all starting to become really real. He'd dreamt of this moment basically all his life, and it was finally happening.

Logan got situated with a pen and notebook, neatly setting the supplies down on his desk. He was in his own little world for the time being, thinking about how the day would be going. He hoped it would be everything he wanted it to be.

A high pitched scream was heard. Logan immediately turned around, expecting there to be a fire, a giant cockroach, a spill some unknown substance, _something_.

What he didn't expect to see was a fangirl.

He knew the fangirls well—he _was_ a part of America's favorite boy band. This girl, like most others, had wide, amazed, nearly crying from joy and excitement eyes. She had her hands clapped together, as if praying that this was real life, that she was actually in the presence of a boy band member. The scream honestly should have shocked him as much as it had. He was used to encounters like this—girls randomly screaming and staring at him like he was a god or something.

"_You're _Logan Mitchell! From Big Time Rush! I LOVE you!" the fangirl screeched.

Logan gulped. He hadn't anticipated being in the same class as one of his fans. He was at a loss of what to do next. Should be acknowledge that _yes_, he was that boy band member? That he was actually there, in real life, in this poor girl's economic class? Or should be tell her, "nope, you've got the wrong guy," and avoid the crazy fan frenzy that would likely be unleashed.

Logan Mitchell was no liar. So he gave the girl a meek smile and a small nod in response.

Whispers erupted in the room, and Logan inwardly groaned. Sure, he loved all his fans and being a popstar and everything, but he had not anticipated being recognized and idolized during his school days.

Looking at it, though, how could he _not_ anticipate such a thing? Big Time Rush was the biggest boy band in America. _Of course _he'd have a few fans in his classes. Not to sound cocky or anything, but it wasn't as if Big Time Rush was a little-known band. They were huge. And they had a large fanbase, with ages ranging from little kids to adults.

This could _not _be happening.

"So, are you, like, here for economics class or what?" a girl asked, sitting abruptly next to him. She twirled her hair, and all he could think was _duh_, he was here for economics class. Did they think he wasn't a real person? That he didn't want a proper education? Many people knew he wanted to be a doctor. Did they think he'd just obtain a medical license by paying for it?

Logan refrained from rolling his eyes as questions like this kept on coming.

Finally, the professor entered the classroom. "Settle down, everyone!" she called. The woman looked to be in her mid-forties and very serious. Surely, _she _wouldn't recognize Logan!

As the class seemed to quiet down a bit for their professor, Logan gave a smile of relief, though he could still feel several pairs of eyes on him.

The instructor took the mandatory first day attendance, and once she got to Logan's name, rolled her eyes. Oh yeah. She knew him. And clearly wasn't a fan.

"Logan Mitchell," she called with a near snarl, looking straight at the boy.

Logan gave a lopsided, nervous grin. "Here, ma'am," he stated.

"I _know_ you're here, superstar. What I don't understand is why you're in my class. I hope you don't intend on distracting my students just because you think that college courses will be a fun way to waste your time," she stated rather rudely.

Logan's smile faltered. He didn't expect an educator to be so, well, _rude_. "I have no intention of wasting my time, ma'am, or distracting anyone. I'm just here to learn, like everyone else," he told the woman, hesitantly.

The professor stared at the boy for another second before giving a hard smile. It wasn't particularly happy, but it wasn't sarcastic either. "Great answer, Mr. Mitchell." She looked around at the rest of the class, "I expect everyone to have the same attitude as Mr. Mitchell while in my class. You are here to learn, not gush over a boy band member."

Logan gave a smile. Finally, a person who would treat him like any other student, and not some boy band member who came to college because he had nothing better to do with his life.

The rest of class was a bore. Well, a bore to anyone besides Logan. The professor went over the course syllabus for the semester, like most professors did on the first day. While a majority of the students in the class just sat there and pretended to listen to their instructor, a few fangirls still whispered and gawked at Logan. However, Logan was happy with the way things ended up going. He was, somewhat, treated just like any other student, and he hoped his next class would be the same.

Sadly, it wasn't.

Logan made his way across campus, looking for the building that held his next two classes before lunch. He ignored the several stares he'd earned, many whispers and conversations that happened to use his and his bandmates' names, and camera flashes. Really, was it that big a deal that he was attending school? Apparently it was.

Amongst finally finding his next classroom, Logan took another seat in the front row, greatly hoping that he would have another class like his previous one (minus such a rude professor and a few fangirls, preferably). Sadly, minutes after sitting in his chosen seat, another loud squeal was heard. Logan resisted the urge to roll his eyes as yet another girl came up to him and said, "You're Logan Mitchell, from Big Time Rush! I'm your biggest fan!"

Logan smiled that lopsided grin of his as he replied, "Thanks, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"AWE, you're so sweet!" the girl squealed. "Sorry if I'm bothering you or anything. This is probably weird!"

"_Yes, but I'm used to it by now,_" the boy thought, though he just gave another lopsided grin and told her, "No, I always like meeting fans."

The girl smiled yet again (had she stopped?) and replied, "Well, I promise that I won't be a super fangirl during class!" And with that, the girl walked to the front of the room and placed her bag on the big desk in front of the big blackboard.

Logan couldn't believe it. _This _was his teacher? A fangirl?

He stared at the girl—his _teacher_—wide-eyed. And he immediately knew this class wasn't going to be fun.

When the day was finally over, and Logan had sufficed all five of his classes, he realized a few things. One: every single one of his teachers was either a fangirl (and a grad-student, rather than a full professor) or absolutely hated him because they thought he was some privileged famous kid who just wanted something to waste his time on. Two: college wasn't a thing like he imagined. He thought he'd be going to _school_, not some place where people would either fangirl over him or hate him. He knew it'd be hard being a student and in a famous boy band, but he hadn't expected this.

But he decided that it couldn't get any worse, right? After all, college _is_ the best four years of your life. The best was yet to come. Or so he believed.

_And that's it for chapter three! I hope you guys enjoyed this, and look forward to reading the next chapter! I look forward to writing it. :)_

_Also: someone mentioned in a review something about being worried about me just dropping this story. I can __**promise**__ you that that will never happen. I intend on finishing every story I write, this one included. But I appreciate your concern. :)_

_Thanks again, everyone! You're all beautiful!_


	4. And A Horrible Conclusion

_Hi there! Here's chapter 4! :) Sorry for it coming so late and being way too short, but I'm already working on the next chapter, and it should be posted within the next day or two. So look forward to that. _

_I own nothing you may recognize._

Logan let out a sigh as he sat on the bench. Of _course_ the guys were late to pick him up. Why did he think they'd be on time? They never were! Those idiots probably stopped to buy Nerf guns or something stupid like that! He should've just driven himself to school this morning. Why hadn't he done that again? Oh, that's right! His dumb friends forced him to let them bring him. _Idiots_.

The boy looked down at his phone to check the time once more. _4:11_. Where could they possibly be?!

Just as soon as he'd thought it, the Big Time Rush Mobile pulled up in front of him, coming to a halt with a squeal of the breaks. James was driving, clearly.

"Hey, Logie! How was your first day!" Kendall called from the back seat.

Logan glared daggers at all three of the other boys. "Shut up. Do you three realize how late you are?!" he yelled. It wasn't like he liked yelling at his friends, but they were over an hour late. He'd already had a horrible first day at school, and now, these three, who he didn't even _want _to pick him up or take him to school that morning, were late to come get him.

"Yeah, but we had a really good reason!" Carlos objected. Seeing the glare Logan immediately sent him, he backed down. "Sorry. You want the front seat to make up for it?"

That was the last straw. Logan yelled in response, "James, get in the back seat! I'm driving!"  
James, looking scared for his life, answered, "Logan, I don't think—"

"No, you DON'T think! None of you idiots ever do! You three don't care about anyone but yourselves and I'm sick of it! I didn't want you to drive me this morning, I didn't ask for you to pick me up! GET. IN. THE. BACK. SEAT."

James didn't have to be told twice. He immediately climbed over his own seat and into the back seat with Kendall. As Logan got into the car and started to drive, the other three boys remained silent. They knew when Logan was mad, you don't mess with him. You just shut up and let him get it out.

Bringing the car and the boys back to the Palm Woods with a screech of the breaks, Logan was still full of anger. And as the four of them went up to their apartment, still silent and Logan of course angrily leading the way, no one in the Palm Woods dared to stop them to chat. Anyone that could see them knew something was clearly wrong. These four boys from Minnesota that loved to play hockey and sing and cause trouble wherever they went (in the friendliest and most good-natured way possible) were unusually silent and obviously not in the mood for chitchat.

Upon reaching the apartment, Logan went straight to his room and slammed the door shut. He didn't even acknowledge Mrs. Knight when she asked what was wrong, despite the fact that he knew it wasn't her fault his best friends were all such idiots. He'd had enough with this day. He was ready for bed all too soon.


	5. A Brand New Day

_Hi there! As promised, here's chapter 5! (:_

_I own nothing you may recognize._

Logan had refused to come out of his room that night. When Mrs. Knight called him to dinner, he said he wasn't hungry. When Katie asked him to help her with her homework, he said he wasn't feeling well. And when Kendall, James, and Carlos asked him to go down to the pool, play lobby-hockey, and try out their newest video game with them, he angrily ignored them. He couldn't handle being around anyone right now, most of all those three. So he sat in his room all night and did his "first day of class" homework and waited for himself to calm down.

By this point, Logan honestly didn't know what to think. He thought college life would be great. But it was only the first day, right? It would get better. It had to get better. What was that his mother always said when he was a kid? _Things always get better, whether you know it or not._ He had to believe that that was true.

So, the next day, he got up bright and early and got ready for school like nothing was wrong. He smiled at Mrs. Knight, who handed him a plate with toast and eggs. He told Katie to have a good day at school. He waved goodbye to his best friends, who were only just getting up as he was on his way out the door. And he drove to school, ready to take on the new day.

Logan made his way to his first class, trying to keep his head up as cameras flashed every once in a while, catching the college-bound boy-bander. And when he finally made it to his first class of the day, he sat in the front row, like he always did. He had to keep his head up. Things would get better. School was what he was good at. He loved it. He wouldn't let a few bad teachers, slightly obnoxious fangirls, and his stupid, forgetful best friends ruin that for him. The teachers would learn that he was a hard-working student. The fangirls would calm down. And his best friends would still be his best friends through everything.

Sitting in his front row desk, Logan was officially 15 minutes early to class, and there was only two other students in the room. He wanted to make friends, or at least say hello and be polite, but he would really rather not be bombarded with his popstar life anymore.

However, the other boy that was sitting in the room called to him, "Hey, Logan right?"

Logan turned toward the boy, who looked like that stereotypical letterman jacket guy that every guy wanted to be and every girl wanted to date in high school. He smiled, though, so Logan assumed he was friendly. He replied, "Yeah. Logan Mitchell."

"Yeah—everyone's been talking about you. It must suck," the boy replied. He gave Logan a small smile, to show that he wasn't trying to make fun of him, but rather be a friendly face instead. Logan greatly appreciated it and turned more in his seat to face the other guy.

"It's not completely horrible, but it could be better," he answered with a smile of his own.

The other guy laughed lightly at the joke and stated, "I'm Paul, by the way. This is Krissy," he pointed to the girl that sat next to him. She was dressed in a pink mini-dress and looked like a prom queen as she waved lightly at Logan.

"Nice to meet you, Logan," Krissy told him with a smile.

"Yeah, you too," he politely replied.

He continued to talk with Paul and Krissy until the other students came into the classroom. Logan was relieved to discover that most of them were over the whole "a celebrity goes to my school" thing by now, and only a select few girls were ogling him during class, and only one or two of them (that he saw) took "secretive" pictures of him during class. It was a nice change.

Upon leaving the classroom, Logan was stopped by Paul and Krissy.

"Hey, so, there's this party tonight—would you wanna come?" Paul asked him, holding out a piece of paper with an address on it, regardless of the fact that Logan had yet to answer.

"Uh…" Logan wasn't sure how to respond. It was only his second day of college, ever, and he heard that college parties were intense. Being a star in young Hollywood, he'd been to his fair share of parties—but he'd never really been to an actual party-party with loud music and red solo cups and underage drinking and crazy people doing crazy antics (unless you count that time they had a party out by the pool of the Palm Woods and Carlos jumped off of the roof into the pool and had to go to the hospital). It would be his first real crazy party. And did he really want to go by himself? What if people made fun of him? What if the only reason Paul and Krissy were inviting him to begin with was because they wanted to set him up to prove that they could really mess with the new student that was a part of a boy band?

No, he couldn't think like that right now. This day was actually going really well, compared to yesterday. He couldn't just say no to the only people to really befriend him since he got here.

"Okay," he finally told Paul, taking the piece of paper he was handing him. "Sounds fun."

"Great! It's at my place, so I'll see you there—9:00. Get ready to party!" Paul replied gave Logan a secure pat on the back, and walked off, Krissy following closely behind him and sending Logan a wave as she walked.

Logan grinned as he looked down at the sheet of paper between his fingers. His mother was right after all—things always do get better.


	6. Guilt Party

_So sorry this has come so late. School has been crazy._

_I own nothing you may recognize._

Logan rummaged through his closet for something to wear to the party. It was nearing 9:00, and he still had yet to figure out what to wear. Sure, he'd been to his fair share of parties before, but he'd never gone alone. James had always been there to help him—okay, push him out of the way and find him "decent" clothes to wear. But Logan didn't want to even tell the guys about this party now, so he was on his own.

"Hey, Loganator, what're you doing?" Kendall asked as he entered the room, Carlos and James just behind him. Now that Logan had cooled down tremendously from his meltdown the previous day, the four of them were best friends again, as they always would be, and acted like nothing had ever been wrong.

"Oh, I have a study group tonight," Logan quickly lied. He continued looking through his closet for some nice (although not too nice) clothes to wear to the party.

"And you're getting dressed up for that…?" Carlos questioned him, eyebrow raised in confusion.

It was true, a study group wasn't the best idea Logan could have had. Who dresses up for study group? Unless…

"Yeah, there's this girl I like that's there, so I want to look nice," he lied again. He truthfully hated lying to his friends, but college was his thing. He wanted to do this on his own. Ever since they had moved out to LA, the boys were constantly together. And Logan loved that, he really did, but now he just wanted something to himself. When Kendall, James, and Carlos decided that they were going to take a year off of school, Logan saw college life as his opportunity to do something on his own. And college was more than just classes and homework—there were peers and parties and other things too. So he wouldn't tell them about the party he'd been invited to. Not just yet anyway.

"Niiice," James and Carlos chorused.

"What's she like?" Carlos continued, bouncing over to Logan's bed and taking a seat.

"Is she hot?" James followed, taking his own seat at Logan's desk chair.

"Yeah, she's great. If you guys are going to just sit around and bug me, can you at least help me pick something out to wear?" Logan trailed off as he flung random articles of clothing across the room.

James stood immediately and put his game face on, simultaneously avoiding being wacked by a shirt of Logan's. "Out of my way, boys—this is my forte."

Scoffing at the tallest friend, Kendall questioned Logan once again, "What time will you be back from your study group? We kinda wanted to have a guys night."

Logan watched for a minute as James basically ripped apart his closet, article of clothing after article of clothing. Then he turned back to Kendall, intent on answering his question, "Uh…I don't know. Probably not too late. Isn't it a little late for guys night anyway?"

"Dude, we don't have school anymore and Gustavo isn't having us go to the studio tomorrow—we can stay up as long as we want!" Carlos reminded the resident genius with that certain cheerfulness in his voice that he always seemed to have.

Logan gave an eye roll. "Just because _you guys_ don't have school anymore, doesn't mean I don't. I still have class tomorrow."

"So? You're going to a nerd party tonight. You can stay up and hang with your bros, can't you?" James interjected from his point at the closet.

"It's not a 'nerd party'—it's a _study group_, you idiot," Logan immediately snapped. This was just like his friends—the only thing they cared about was getting into trouble. They didn't care about his studies. Okay, maybe he wasn't _actually_ studying this one time, but they didn't know that. They never respected the fact that Logan actually liked school. He liked to learn. And he did not appreciate being referred to as a 'nerd' all the time.

"Whatever," James commented, obviously not caring. He turned around and showed Logan a dark dress shirt. "This is acceptable." He threw the shirt at him. "Get some jeans and you're good to go, bud. Your hot college girl will fall for you, for sure."

"Thanks…" Logan mumbled.

.

A half hour later, Logan was at the party. It was exactly how the movies portrayed college parties—full of cheap beer, red solo cups, sweaty college students, loud music, and people doing things they'd probably regret later when they were sober. But Logan was actually really excited about this. He was pumped for his first college party. Even if his best buds weren't there. Even if he had no one to talk to. Even if he really didn't know anyone. Even if he wasn't sure of what to do.

Why was he excited for this again?

Logan shook his head at the thought. No—he was going to enjoy this. He was going to enjoy college life. He wanted the full experience, he wanted to be able to hang out and party with his peers. College was something he'd looked forward to since he was a child—schoolwork, partying experience, and all.

"Hey, bud—you made it!" Paul seemingly came out of nowhere and gave him a big clap on the back. He was obviously buzzed.

Logan grinned in return and replied, "Wouldn't miss it, man. How's it going?"

"Alright, ya know, little this, little that," Paul vaguely replied, unaware of the fact that he really made no sense. But he seemed happy, so Logan figured it wouldn't hurt to play along.

"Totally get it, man," the genius boy-bander stated.

"Really? Aw, I knew you'd get me, man! We should be bros. We ride together, we die together," Paul threw an arm around Logan's shoulders and used big hand gestures with his opposite hand to enthuse his point.

_What?_ was all Logan could think. What does that even mean? 'We ride together, we die together.' Isn't that something they say in Western movies or something cheesy like that? Paul really didn't make sense, but Logan laughed all the same, glad to have his cheerful guy as a "bro."

Which got him thinking about his own bros back home… Kendall, James, and Carlos all believed him to be at a study group, trying to impress some hot college girl. But there was no study group and there was no girl. And Logan couldn't help but feel a little guilty about lying to his friends.

"What's wrong?" Paul's booming voice interrupted Logan's thoughts. Logan gave him a questioning look, and he continued with an explanation, "You look confused…or sad…or something."

Logan shook his head, giving Paul a new smile, "Nah, I'm cool." And he tried his hardest to act cool. He tried to be calm and collected and confident like Kendall, cool and brooding and confident like James, and funny and chill and confident like Carlos. He realized that thing his friends all had in common that he was lacking—_confidence_. That was the one thing he always needed work on. Since he was a kid, he'd had trouble being confident and being comfortable with who he was, and the boys always seemed to have it together. So Logan began to try to be more like them, more confident.

Paul beamed at Logan and began guiding him to the kitchen as he answered, "Awesome—let's get you a drink!"


	7. Party-Party!

_I really have no excuse for how late this chapter is. I swear, I WILL do better. Please don't give up on me! :) This chapter is really short too, but I'm going to get another one out in the next day or so, so hopefully you'll all forgive me. Enjoy, as per usual!_

_I own nothing you may recognize._

Cheers rang out all around him as Logan took yet another shot. Hands clasped his back as his peers laughed and yelled things he didn't care to understand. He shook his head, somehow clearing it of the sudden rush of alcohol burning down his throat. He let out a low sort of growl and showed a grin, causing even more cheers and laughs around him.

How had he even gotten in this situation? One minute, Paul was leading him to get a drink, and 2 hours later, he was drinking heavily with a group of people he'd never met in his entire life, plus Paul. They'd gone through beer and hard liquor alike. "Gotta drink your beer before you do the bigger stuff, or you'll get knocked on your ass and everyone'll make fun of ya like a middle schooler or some shit" Paul had told Logan on their way to get drinks. Of course, Logan had drank before—just not with people other than his best friends.

Regardless, he was having a _really_ good time. It was so damn awesome to be able to hang out with people that didn't treat him like a parent or the innocent child (like Kendall, James, and Carlos often did), a drool-and-screech-worthy boybander (like his fans did), or a total douche bag that thought he was better than everyone else because of his fame (like oh-so-many non-fans had done). These people didn't seem to know who he was, or really care. They just knew he was a college student, like them, there for a good time. He was sure that, once they were sober again, many of them would know who he was. But that didn't bother him right now. Right now, he was only concerned with living in the present, and partying with his peers.

Paul continued to hit Logan's back in a brotherly fashion as he called, "Dude, you're an animal! A fucking animal!"

Had Logan been sober he would have realized that _that makes no fucking sense_, but since he wasn't, he called back, "_You're_ an animal, bro! A fucking beast!"

Paul laughed loudly and the two newly-formed bros high-fived and bro-hugged, then Paul threw an arm around Logan's shoulders and pointed to the crowd around them, "GIVE IT UP FOR MY MAN, LOGAN, BITCHES!" And the cheering commenced once again.

Logan was never one for intense drinking. Frankly, he had never really been crazy drunk, like his friends had. He was always the "dad of the group," for lack of a better term. He had to look out for Kendall, James, and Carlos as they drank and drank, making sure they didn't jump off of buildings or did anything else that would get them seriously injured. But tonight, he didn't have to worry about watching them and tucking them into bed when they'd passed out. Because they weren't there. They weren't there to bug him. And, guilty as he'd felt, Logan was actually happy about that.

Logan was brought out of his thoughts of his three best friends—who were probably playing some sort of video game or dome hockey and eating all the junk food they could muster—when he found himself being handed a red solo cup.

Paul grinned at him, "Celebratory drink!"

What were they celebrating, exactly? Logan couldn't remember exactly. But he grabbed the plastic cup anyway and threw it back, just like he'd done to with so many others that night. He wasn't as dizzy or acting as stupid as he thought he would be. He was actually just really confident and acted a lot like Paul. Paul was obviously a popular guy, with his stereotypical high school letterman status and brooding good looks.

_Brooding good looks_. Had Logan seriously just thought that? Who even talked like that? 40-year-old housewives that read romance novels, that's who.

He clearly needed another drink.

And the night went on.


	8. Drunk Alterego

_What did I tell you guys? I'm on it. ;)_

_Enjoy chapter…8? Is it chapter 8? I think it is._

_I own nothing you may recognize._

By the time 3:00 a.m. hit, Logan and Paul had become true bros, spending the entire night together, doing shots, chugging beer, clapping each other on the back every time they did something awesome, and doing numerous "drunken shenanigans" together, such as starting a beer-filled water balloon fight in the backyard (which they later realized was a bad idea because "_dude_, we could've _drank that shit_"). The boys seemed like they'd known each other for years, as different as they were.

Finally deciding he severely needed to pass out from all the fun he'd had that night, Logan headed home. Had he not been completely drunk, he would have realized what a stupid mistake that was. Going home at 3:00 a.m., when he knew his friends would still be awake, ready to have a Guys Night movie marathon or something like that with him…it just _screamed _"BAD IDEA." However, Logan, after having a glass of water at Paul's house in order to come down from his drunken high, at least a little bit, headed to 2J via taxicab (He didn't even know they ran at 3:00 a.m.!).

The boy fumbled with his keys outside the doorway, mumbling a string of swear words along the lines of "shitdamnmotherfuckingcocksucking keys." He found that, the more he drank and the more he hung out with Paul, he more he wanted to live life on edge, at least for tonight. He vaguely remembered the conversation about swearing he'd had with Paul a few hours ago. ("What's was so bad about swear words anyway, dude? They're just words. They're just tryna make their way in the world like e'erybody else! DON'T JUDGE THEM BECAUSE YOU GAVE THEM A MEANING. Fucking societal influences and all that bullshit, man. It's like. 'Shit' and 'poop' essentially mean the same thing. But if a 3-year-old says 'poop' it's cute, and if they say 'shit' they're smacked for having a 'pottymouth.' Bro, for the rest of the night, I will swear at least once in every sentence! AT LEAST ONCE! FUCKER!" he remembered yelling, to which Paul agreed, gave him a pat on the back, and said he'd do the same.)

The boy finally got the god-forsaken door to open and was surprised to see that the apartment was completely empty. Everyone must have been asleep already, making Logan shout out a bold "YES!" and then clap a hand over his mouth, trying to stop the already spoken words from leaving his mouth. Looking around the apartment with his hand still over his mouth, Logan watched for any signs that he'd woken anyone up. When it felt like 10 minutes had passed (though it was really only two), Logan uncovered his mouth, breathed a sigh of relief, and headed to his and Kendall's bedroom.

Tip-toeing as quietly as possible and even nearly falling over a few times, he finally made it to the room and was happy to see that his roommate has fast asleep.

"Logan."

_Or maybe not_.

Logan cursed as Kendall sat up in his bed and turned on his bedside lamp, looking tired and cranky.

"Where have you been? Do you know what time it is?!" Kendall whisper-yelled, getting up to close the door behind Logan.

Logan stood there, dumbfounded and not knowing what to say.

Kendall stood with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised, "_Well_?"

Logan shrugged, "Bro, I ain't gonna lie to you, you're acting like my mom right now, and I wanna go to bed, so peace out." He flashed his best friend a peace sign and maneuvered over to his bed, not even bothering to change out of his clothes as he fumbled for the covers.

Kendall stood there, arms still crossed and a confused look on his face. Since when did Logan say words like "ain't" and "bro?" He hated improper language like that. Kendall even recalled him once saying that "improper English gets you nowhere, and I am not a caveman" and then went into an entire lecture on developmental speech and evolution throughout time.

Snapping out of his daze, the blond boy went over to his roommate and pulled the covers of his bed back for him, realizing that his best friend was completely drunk out of his mind. Didn't he have school tomorrow? Looking at Logan's now knocked out face, Kendall realized there was no way he'd be getting up for school tomorrow. But he sure would be getting an earful from his best friends.


	9. A Wrong Confrontation

_What? Chapter 9 already? You'd better believe it!_

_And I still own nothing you may recognize._

…

The sun was way too bright. _Way_ too bright. At least for sadly extremely hungover Logan Mitchell.

Said boy groaned at the bright sunlight pouring through his bedroom window. He violently shoved his pillow over his head, but nonetheless turned his face and opened his eyes slightly under the pillow. _Bad decision._ The boy winced once again, seeing the beyond bright lighting that was outside.

"_Why _is the sun outside!?" he complained with another loud groan. Agitated, he peaked over at his alarm clock on the nightstand. _11:32. Hmm. That's why it's so bright outside, it's nearly noon and—_

Realization hit him. "ALMOST NOON!" he yelled and flung out of his bed, violently untangling himself from the blanket that seemed to be permanently attached to him and spinning around the room frantically, looking for his school books and clothes to wear for the day.

"Damn it, I'm gonna be so late! I've already missed three classes!" he yelled to himself as he scurried about the room. "WHY DIDN'T ANYBODY WAKE ME UP!?" he screamed to the house, not figuring anyone was home at this time anyway.

"We figured you needed to sleep off your drinking." Logan jumped at the sound of Kendall's voice. He whipped his head around to see his three best friends standing in the doorway with disappointed looks on their faces.

He didn't care. "You _know _I have class all day!" he yelled at them, stripping off his shirt and putting on a fresh one, almost putting his head through the arm hole by mistake.

"And _you _know better than to get drunk on a school night!" Kendall backfired.

"What are you, my mother?" Logan mumbled. He didn't need this right now. He was _late_, and it was only still the first week of class. It's not like the three of them never drank on a school night! That week when Mama Knight went with Katie on a week-long class trip for the younger grades, the boys practically drank every night. It was an entire week of partying for them, with no adult supervision and no kid sister to bug them. And every day, regardless of how shitty they felt, Logan would always wake his friends up for school, so they'd get the education they needed (and Mama Knight wouldn't kill them once she got home).

"You _lied_ to us, Logan," Carlos interjected, arms crossed. Had Logan not been rushing around the room to get ready, he would have commented that Carlos looked like a little kid again, when he used to pretend to be a cop to be like his father.

"I just wanted a night to hang out by myself with some college friends! You guys wouldn't understand," Logan called in reply, moving passed the boys and into the rest of the apartment, all the while still having a killer headache. He moved to the kitchen cupboard to find some Aspirin, fumbling around with different medicines and then struggling to unscrew the cap of his desired drug.

"Where are you going? You can't just leave now, we want an explanation!" James interrupted Logan's frantic thoughts and movements, grabbing him on the shoulder in the process.

Logan shrugged the hand off of him. "I can't have this discussion right now, you idiots, I need to go to class!" He zoomed out the door, grabbing his car keys on the way out.

Kendall, James, and Carlos all looked at one another.

"Well, that didn't go as planned," Kendall commented and moved to the couch, running an anxious hand through his dirty blond hair.

"What do we do now?" Carlos questioned, sitting beside the unofficial leader on the couch. He was genuinely worried about his best friend. Logan never broke promises, and he never, _ever _broke the rules.

"We wait," Kendall told him with a small smile of reassurance. "We wait till Logan gets home from class, and then we talk it out, as _friends_, not as his parents."

"What if he doesn't listen to us?" Carlos questioned once again.

"We have to make him listen. We're best friends. We never turn our backs on each other, remember? And Logan's clearly going through something, something we don't know. He needs us, all right?"

Carlos nodded with a smile, "Best friends, forever!"

Kendall gave a nod in response, with his own big smile. He turned to look up at James, who was awkwardly standing next to the couch. "James?"

James looked down at his friend as he spoke to him.

"You cool?" Kendall asked the standing boy.

James nodded in response, "Fine. I just wanna know what's going down with him." James had been called selfish many times in his life. And that was just fine, maybe he _was_ selfish. But he cared about and loved his best friends like brothers. They meant everything to him. To see Logan with such a broken look this morning was heartbreaking for him.

Earlier this morning, when the three boys had woken up, Kendall told Carlos and James about his encounter with Logan the previous night (or rather, early morning). He told them about how Logan acted like some drunk frat boy who couldn't care less about hurting his friends or about doing well in school. That wasn't Logan, not at all. Logan loved school and he loved his friends even more. But last night, Kendall saw a side of Logan, a side he never wanted to see ever again. He and the boys had always told Logan to _take a chill pill _and relax sometimes, but this was out of hand. Sure, college students regularly lied, partied, overslept, and got mad at the people that truly loved them, but Logan wasn't just another college student. He was their best friend.


	10. Hungover Classtime

_So, I actually had this done 2 or 3 days ago, but I was too tired to read over it to make sure it made sense (and I was really, REALLY lazy). But it's here now, and it's here pretty quick, right? Right. Yay. :) Enjoy the chapter!_

_I own nothing you may recognize._

…

Logan was furious. How dare his so-called best friends treat him like he's some sort of idiot! How dare they treat him like a child! How dare they! He was 18-years-old, and if he wanted to go out and enjoy life with his peers, he was going to damn well do it! They didn't get to decide what he did with his life. They weren't him! If anything _he _should be chastising _them_ for not even bothering to enroll in college! At least he knew that going to college was the right thing for his future! Unlike them! They were too dumb to even give college a chance. And when this whole stupid boy band thing ended, they'd be screwed because they didn't bother going to college. And _he_ would be the only one that actually went on the right path in life!

Okay. No. That was wrong. He shouldn't be thinking like that. They were his best friends, and they _were_ only trying to look out for him. And not going to college right away was absolutely their choice, it didn't make them dumb. What was he thinking? These were his best friends! His brothers! And now he was thinking badly of them because they hadn't woke him up to go to class, which wasn't even their responsibility.

He owed them a serious apology.

But first, he had to go to class, his two remaining classes of the day.

He quickly parked the Big Time Rush Mobile and ran into one of the buildings in search of his halfway-over class. Luckily, it was a big lecture class, so Logan could easily sneak in and sit near the back, without the embarrassment of having a ton of people awkwardly stare at him and be confronted by the teacher.

The instructor was saying something about…Newton? Sure. This was his physics class, right? God, he hoped so. He didn't want to be in the wrong class. That would just be the cherry on top to an already shitty morning…afternoon, whatever.

Whatever the instructor was talking about, it all just sounded like a loud foghorn in Logan's ears. He wanted to cover his ears. He wanted to put in ear plugs. He wanted to go back to bed.

But he sat in that lecture hall, with one of his hands on his aching head, trying to listen to the droning teacher. He really wished he'd brought his sunglasses, because if he thought the sunlight outside was bad, the florescent lighting of the lecture hall were absolutely treacherous.

_Why, God, why_ had he decided to go to that stupid party?

Finally, the professor dismissed the students, and Logan booked it out of there, only to nearly bulldoze into a petite girl.

"Oh, shoot, I'm so sorry—are you okay?" Logan frantically asked the girl. He recognized her then. Krissy.

She smiled at him and waved off his questioning, "It's fine. You look like hell."

Logan's arms visibly fell as he replied, "Thanks. I know. I slept in this morning because of the party."

She nodded understandably, "Totally get it. But you were awesome last night! You should definitely hang out with us all again." She grinned, obviously remembering how hilariously drunk Logan had been the previous night.

He shook his head and gave a nervous laugh. "I don't think I'll be partying again for a while. I missed 3 classes this morning, and it's still the first week."

Again, she blew off his comment, "Hey, you had fun, that's all that matters." She looked behind her, at the clock hanging above the big doors, then back at Logan. "Where ya headed?"

"Book store," he automatically replied.

She gave a confused expression, and he obviously knew why. Nobody buys books the first week of class, unless your instructor specifically tells you to.

"I forgot my sunglasses at home," he quickly explained.

She laughed in understanding. "Mind if I walk with you?"

"No, by all means," he politely gestured for her to walk out the door ahead of him. She did so, and the two walked side-by-side across campus to the book store (which really should have been called a "random overly-priced shit you need" store).

"So, do you have any more classes today?" Logan asked as they walked. It was sort of awkward to be around just her. She was usually quietly standing near Paul. Even last night, she'd hardly spoken, and just quietly stayed by Paul's side. Logan wondered what exactly was going on there.

"Not until 6:00," Krissy answered. "Communications 101."

"Sounds God-awful," he replied with a disgusted look. "Not just the class part, but the time. Why so late?"

She shrugged, "I didn't want morning classes."

He let out a slight laugh, wishing he'd thought that far ahead and not planned morning classes. It sure would have helped him out this morning.

"What about you? Class after you get your hangover shades?" she joked with a twinkle in her eye. Logan realized she had really pretty eyes, especially with that twinkle. It made her have some innocence and also some mischief at the same time. It was a nice change from the usual quiet and reserved Krissy he'd seen before.

"One more. In about a half hour, till 3:30. Then I'm home-free."

She laughed again, as they reached the store. "Well, would you wanna get a late lunch-early dinner after your next class?" she asked him.

"Yeah, totally, that'd be cool," he answered.

They exchanged cell phone numbers, and Logan headed to class, promising to text her when he was done, so they could meet up in the student center to eat.

He had a smile on his face as he entered his final class, slightly early. But, he realized, if you aren't at least 10 minutes early for class in college, you're basically late, because _everyone _comes to class early, and teachers start class early often, too.

When he finally got out of class, he found that he was really excited to get something to eat with Krissy. Not only because he was absolutely starving, but because he really enjoyed having a friend around. It really felt like they were good friends, despite the fact that they'd only known each other for a few short days.

He sat down at one of the tables in the student center (which had various places to get food from), and waited for Krissy's arrival. He wondered if she'd bring Paul, or any of the other people he'd met last night. He couldn't say he'd particularly remember them, but he knew he'd had a good time at the party, and that he'd made a lot of friends. Now if he could only meet them sober…

"Hey!" Logan's head shot up a little too quickly at the voice and hands banging on his table. He saw Krissy with a smile on her face. "I brought you a present."

Logan raised an eyebrow, which she couldn't see, due to the fact that he still wore his sunglasses to block out the wretched lighting. "What?"

She handed him a bottle from her purse. It was small and shiny purple, but other than that it just looked like a regular water bottle.

"A purple water bottle?" he questioned, taking the figure from her hands.

"They were all out of boy colors, purple was the only choice—I figured you wouldn't want pink. Anyway, it's more of what's _inside _the bottle, boy band genius," she answered with a smirk. He'd told her and Paul and their other friends all about how he was considered the genius of his friends.

Logan was still confused as he unscrewed the lid and peered into the bottle. He sniffed. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Well, what do you think it is, Mr. Mitchell?" she asked innocently, then flashed a grin. "Alcohol cures hangovers, fun fact."

Logan shrugged, and put the bottle down. "Let's go get our food?"

She agreed and they were off.


	11. Making It Right

_Hi, chapter...I believe it's 11? 11. Yes. Okay, so I'm thinking this story is going to end up being somewhere around 20 chapters, if you guys were wondering. We've still got a while to go with a (SPOILER ALERT! THOUGHT IT'S PRETTY OBVIOUS JUDGING MY THE SUMMARY!) college style mental breakdown from our favorite Logie Bear. (: Horray. Enjoy the chapter!_

_I own nothing you may recognize!_

…

After school was pretty nerve wracking for Logan. He knew he had to talk to his friends and tell them how sorry he was, that he didn't mean to snap at them this morning, lie to them last night… Basically, he just had to apologize for being a giant jerk. And he knew that. _Boy_, did he know that!

So he got home as quickly as possible, sporting his new hangover-glasses, as he and Krissy had taken to calling them.

Krissy was a real character, he'd decided. Just spending the lunch-dinner-whatever hour with the girl had given him an entirely new perspective of her. When they'd first met, she'd hardly said two words to him. Now that they'd gotten to know each other a little better, he saw how different she was. Different than when she was around Paul. She didn't even mention said boy when she and Logan ate together, but she'd talked about many other things. Logan wasn't sure if they were dating or what, and he didn't want to overstep any boundaries. Paul was his "bro," as he'd proclaimed the previous night. And what was that saying? Bros before hoes? While Logan personally found the term derogatory (He had a mother, _hello_!) and would not ever refer to a girl, especially one like Krissy, who he hardly knew, as a "hoe," he knew he should mind Paul and her relationship with him (whatever that may be).

While the two ate their food together, Krissy explained to him what he'd missed in their morning class, and he praised the teacher for not having taken attendance that day. Apparently there was a policy that stated there would be no taking attendance in classes for the first two weeks of the term, so he was grateful in more ways than one.

Other than school talk, Logan and Krissy had a very enjoyable lunch. He found out that she was studying to be an architect, so she was good at art and design and other things like that. Logan knew she had to be really smart, because this was one of the most competitive of majors. Logan was glad for that; it meant he could have a more intelligent conversation with her, without having to 'dumb down' words, so to speak. It wasn't that he thought his friends were dumb—because they absolutely WERE NOT—but they weren't as…committed to studies as he was. He hoped Krissy would be like him in this respect.

By the time Krissy had to head to class, the two had agreed to meet for lunch again the following day as well, and Logan was glad to have a friend.

Which landed Logan where he was now: right outside of apartment 2J. He could hear his friends making some loud noises (obviously playing video games) from outside the door and heard Mama Knight yell to them to settle down and play nice a few times. Katie was undoubtedly there as well. He wondered if Mrs. Knight and Katie knew about the morning-er, afternoon's activities. He wasn't sure if they'd been home or not when he'd left, since he practically flew out the door. He wasn't even sure if they knew he'd stayed out so late the previous night. But there's no time like the present to find out!

Just as he reached for the door handle, he heard Mama Knight ask the boys, "Have any of you seen Logan? He's usually home by now."

Logan froze, wondering just what they would say in response. Instead of popping in and saying, "Here I am, Mama K!" he listened intently for the next words to be spoken on the other side of the door.

"Oh, I think he said something about staying after his last class for a project or something, Mom!" Kendall covered for his best friend. _Man, _did he sound convincing! Logan wasn't surprised—Kendall was a particularly excellent liar, in good times and in bad.

Logan smiled to himself, hearing his friend cover for him, and then hearing Carlos and James agree with Kendall's statement. They really were the best friends anyone could ever ask for…

He waited another minute or two, listening to the happy chatter of the people he loved most. He was _so lucky _to have them. Then, he opened the door and smiled at everyone.

"Hi, everybody," the college-goer greeted, heading to the refrigerator for a bottle of water. He went to take a seat at the kitchen bar.

"How was your day, honey?" Mama Knight asked with a brilliant smile his way. Clearly, she didn't know about last night. Logan was grateful.

He smiled in return and replied, "Great—I had lunch with a friend after class and we went over an assignment."

His honorary mother nodded with a constant warm smile. "I'm glad you had a good day—don't work yourself too hard now."

"I won't Mama Knight, don't worry!" With a final smile, he turned to look at the boys. He was about to ask them if he could talk to the three of them a minute, when Katie spoke up from next to him.

"Logan, why are you still wearing your sunglasses?" The girl hadn't even looked up from her handheld videogame, and Logan wondered how she knew what he was wearing. Then he remembered, _she's an evil genius_.

He smiled crookedly and took off the glasses and responded, "Oops—guess I just forgot they were there!" He gave a nervous laugh and then walked to the couch where his friends sat, playing their game.

Kendall gave a sideways glance and a small smile before furiously returning to the game on screen. "Hey, Logie," he greeted shortly.

"Hey…" he replied, continuing to watch the three-player game.

After a few minutes of watching and listening to them play the game, he quietly (as to avoid Mrs. Knight and Katie hearing him) asked the boys, "Um, can I talk to you guys in the room for a minute? About this morning?"

"Yeah, of course," Kendall replied just as quietly.

Carlos turned to Logan with a big, warm smile, "Yep!"

James ignored him, but Logan knew that was 'James-ese' for "yeah, sure, whatever, dude."

He let them finish their game and the three of them got up and walked to Kendall and Logan's bedroom as Kendall called to his mother, "We'll be in our room, Mom—just let us know if you need us for anything!"

They heard Mrs. Knight give a sweet reply of "Okay, honey!" before closing the door behind them.

Logan got incredibly nervous, standing like a little kid in from of his three best friends, whose arms were crossed as they looked at him expectantly.

"Okay, right, well, um…' Logan mumbled, unsure of how to go about his discussion. It wasn't like he'd ever been in trouble for—at least not with them (_because _of them, was a different story entirely).

"Look," Kendall started, sensing Logan's nervousness, "we're really sorry for how we reacted this morning, Logie. We shouldn't have been so hard on you, we should've gotten you up for class, and we should've listened to what you had to say."

"We're really sorry, bud—we didn't realize that you might want some space," Carlos continued.

"We shouldn't have gone all 'angry dads' on you. We're sorry. Forgive us?" James concluded their group apology.

Logan was confused. _They _were sorry? None of this was their fault! How could they think it was their fault?

_Oh_. Right. He'd told them so this morning.

"No, you guys were right this morning. I'm the one who's sorry, everything's my fault. I'm taking responsibility for my own actions. I shouldn't have gone out last night, and I really shouldn't have lied to your guys. I'm sorry for what I said this morning. You're my best friends, and I love you like brothers. I really appreciate you guys for being such great brothers."

The remaining boys smiled and pulled him into a cheesy group hug.


	12. Possible College Drama

_I doubt any of you are fathers, but Happy Fathers Day—here's your gift! A nice new chapter!:)_

_I own nothing you may recognize._

…

The weeks passed, and Logan was really starting to like his new life. He made a lot of new friends, friends of Paul and Krissy's especially. It was like he was added to their big group of friends, who seemed to know everyone on the entire campus. He constantly went to Paul's house for "bro nights" and even had study group with him and a few other friends in their classes sometimes. He and Krissy had lunch every day, and he really enjoyed getting the one-on-one time with her. It was odd, but he somehow felt like she was an entirely different person with him than she was with anyone else. He figured she was like that with everyone, different when it's just her and them. Regardless, the two of them got remarkably close during their little luncheons.

His classes were also going particularly well, like they usually were. As always, it wasn't hard for him to keep up with his work and do so exceptionally well.

He and the boys didn't really hang out as much as they used to, but he guessed that was to be expected, since they didn't go to school with him anymore. They still hung out at home and when they were practicing their music with Gustavo. The band didn't have another big performance or concert planned for another few months, around the time Logan's Christmas break was to come around. Kendall, James, and Carlos were obviously still his best friends in the world, but he didn't hang out with them as often, and he figured that was completely okay. He liked branching out to new people, making new friends, while still maintaining his childhood best friendship with the guys.

He was the same genius Logan Mitchell, but a lot happier and more outgoing, if he did say so himself.

Logan and Krissy sat at their usual lunch table in the student center, when she asked him, "So did you hear about Ronnie's party this weekend?"

Ronnie was another new friend. He was that stereotypical college guy that ditched class and had parties every weekend. He was friendly to everyone, and Logan liked him a lot, despite the fact that the partier didn't even know what classes he himself was taking (which worried Logan itself).

"Yeah, he said something about it the other day when I was at studying for World Cultures at Paul's…" Logan replied easily. Ever since "the party resulting in the hangover from Hell," as he liked to call it, he'd only attended a few parties, and each time he drank responsibly or not at all.

Krissy gave a confused look as she replied, "_Ronnie _was studying at Paul's?"

"I didn't say that," Logan answered with a sarcastic tone. "He was there for beer and to hang out and annoy the rest of us."

She laughed. "I should've known better. You going Saturday?'

Logan shook his head. "I don't think so… I've got that physics paper to write. You're in my class!"

She laughed once again. "So? Do it another time. It isn't due for another two weeks, Logie Bear." She reached across the table to playfully pinch his dimpled cheek, which he immediately slapped away, causing the girl to grin. Ever since Logan's mother had called him one day during their daily luncheon and called her son "Logie Bear" loud enough for Krissy to hear it, she'd ruthlessly been calling him the embarrassing nickname ever since.

"Don't call me that, _Kristina_." The girl gave a distasteful look at that, but he ignored it and continued. "I want to get the physics paper done so I can work on that project for World Cultures."

"The project that's a group project, and you're working with me and Paul?"

"That's the one."

"Fuck it. Come with me to Ronnie's."

"Kris—"

"Okay, so it's decided, I'll be at your place at 9!" she interrupted before he could object. She stood from her seat, blew him a playful kiss, and headed off to her next class.

Logan rolled his eyes.

.

"So you have a _date_?!" Carlos cheered at the dinner table when Logan had finished telling the group how Krissy was _forcing _him to attend Ronnie's party on Saturday.

"Logie has a daaaate," James sing-songed, coaxing him even more.

Logan rolled his eyes and shook his head. "It's not a date. It's Krissy. She has a boyfriend, Paul. We're just going as friends."

"I thought Krissy and Paul weren't actually dating…" Kendall interjected, confused.

Truthfully, Logan was confused about that himself. He still honestly had no idea if Krissy and Paul were dating or just friends or what. He assumed they were dating, because if she wasn't alone or at lunch with him, she was with Paul, always, undoubtfully. But Krissy rarely ever said anything about Paul while at lunch. Today was one of the few times she'd mentioned him at all, and it was the first time she'd brought him up herself.

"I don't know, it's still a little unclear," Logan answered, but turned to James and Carlos who hadn't stopped singing about how "Logie's got a hott college girlfriend! They're going on a da-ate!" "You two are such children," was all he told them, as he stuffed his mouth with food.

Mrs. Knight gave a motherly laugh at the boys' antics, then told Logan, "Honey, I think going to a party is a good idea. Krissy seems like a very nice girl, whether she's a date or just a friend."

Logan smiled. There wasn't much Mrs. Knight didn't say exactly the right thing to. "Thanks, Mama Knight."

The mother gave him a smile in response.

"No, but, I think Dumb and Dumber over there have a point," Katie interjected, throwing a thumb at James and Carlos, who were _still_ taunting Logan. They abruptly stopped at her name-calling and huffed at her. She continued, "This Krissy girl seems like trouble. You don't want to do something you'll regret with her." Katie's vague yet wise words always stuck with Logan.

"What do you mean?" he asked the girl for clarification.

"Well, if she's dating this Paul guy, and she's messing around with you too, that could get your ass kicked," Katie explained.

"Katie, language!" her mother scolded her.

Katie smiled apologetically, then cleared her plate at the table.

"Don't listen to her, Logie. We all know you'd never do that," Kendall reassured his best friend, moments later, when the four boys were in the confines of Kendall and Logan's room.

Logan twiddled his thumbs, "I know. But is it a date? I don't want to cross a line with Paul. We're friends, too."

"Talk to her about it," Kendall answered with a confident smile.

"And what if she tells Paul he tried hitting on her?" James objected. "No, don't do that! See how it goes, and if it feels like she's making the moves on you, then you talk to Paul about his girlfriend and why she's all over you."

"But she's _not_ all over me. We're just hanging out," Logan objected, a bit insulted for himself, as well as Paul and Krissy. He'd never move in on another guy's girlfriend, he knew Krissy wasn't the type of girl to go after a guy when she was in a relationship, and he knew Paul wasn't an idiot. Three things Kendall, James, and Carlos didn't seem aware of.

"Then you don't have to worry," James answered with a shoulder shrug. Discussion over.

But Logan's brain refused to stop thinking. He needed clarification on all this stuff. _And just when he thought college wouldn't be as dramatic or confusing as high school…_


	13. A Little Too Much Drama

_It's been a little longer than I'd liked, but I was super busy! Sorry! :] But you'll all be happy to know that the chapter after this one is nearly finished, so that won't take too long at all!_

_This chapter may seem a little pointless, but it's important, I promise!_

_Enjoy._

_I own nothing you may recognize._

On Saturday, Krissy arrived at 2J, fashionably late at 9:15. James opened the door and greeted the girl he'd heard about but never met.

"_Hello_," he greeted her, turning on the James Diamond charm. "I'm James." He stuck out a hand to her, moving a little too close for someone who was just being friendly.

Krissy gave him a goofy look. "You're one of Logan's best friends?" She didn't believe it. Logan had talked about each of the boys, but he never mentioned that one of them was so shamelessly flirtly.

James gave a charming grin as he replied, "That's right—I'm James, the handsome one. Nice to meet you."

"Krissy," she replied, lightly shaking his hand and looking unfazed by James's tactics. "Yo, Logie Bear! Let's go!" she called into the apartment, as if she were a regular in their home, rather than having just been there for the first time and only having met James just now, and none of the other residents of 2J.

Logan entered the room with Carlos and Kendall at his sides. "Hey, Krissy. I see you met James. Sorry." She laughed at his apology for simply having to meet his friend, while James gave an angry pout. "This is Carlos, and that's Kendall. Guys, this is Krissy."

Greetings of "hello" and "nice to meet you" were exchanged, and Logan and Krissy were soon out the door and headed to Ronnie's party.

What Krissy had failed to mention about said party was that it was apparently the second biggest party of the semester, next to Ronnie's inevitable Halloween party that would arise in a few weeks. Ronnie's frat house was positively bouncing with music and had people all over the place. For it only being 9:30 on a Saturday night, the party was pretty intense, and Logan was only positive that it would get all the more intense the more the night dragged on. It being mid-September and the L.A. weather being what it is, just as many people were partying outside the house as there were people partying inside the house.

"Whoa, there are people everywhere…" Logan commented as the two made their way through the swarms of people, intent on getting to the kitchen for drinks.

"Yeah, great turnout!" Krissy called back, straining her quiet voice over the loud party-goers.

They reached the kitchen and saw Paul with one hand wrapped around a girl's waist and another holding that familiar red solo cup. The two seemed rather close as they talked to a few other guys Logan didn't know, and Logan nervously looked to Krissy to gauge her reaction to the scene.

Krissy seemed unfazed and hardly noticed as she made her way to the drink counter.

"Heeey, Logan and Krissy are here!" the voice of Nate, a guy Logan had seen at every party he'd gone to (but never in class or on campus) made Logan turn around and look to his left.

He smiled and replied, giving Nate a "man-shake" (supposedly different than a handshake…though Logan hardly understood how), "Hey, man. How's it going?"

"Good, good, bro!" Nate was obviously already pretty alcohol-happy. "What about you?"

"Great, thanks."

"And you, Kris?" Nate nodded to the girl, who was still fumbling with a certain bottle to pour into her cup.

"I'd be a lot better if you opened this for me," she replied, flashing him a grin and handing him the bottle she'd been struggling with.

Nate laughed and opened it for her easily. "I can't resist a pretty girl." He winked. "Paul know you're here?"

She just shrugged. Logan wondered if she were mad at Paul for showing up at the party with another girl.

"Pauly!" Nate called over to the boy in question, who still stood across the kitchen.

Paul looked over in his direction, said something to the girl on his arm, and then walked over to the three who'd called him. "Hey, guys, what's up?" He gave Logan and Nate man-shakes and gave Krissy a small nod, to which she responded with an eye roll, which confused Logan even more about their relationship.

Five hours and a few too many drinks later, Logan got the nerve to ask Krissy what was up. The two were sitting outside, on a pair of lawn chairs, laughing and drinking more and more. They hadn't been apart the entire night, and Logan was having a lot of fun.

"Kris, wussup with you an' Pauly?" the boybander slurred a bit as his liquid courage gave him help forming the words he'd wanted to ask for a while now.

She giggled, as she had been the entire night, once Paul wasn't around. Regardless of the fact that this wasn't even funny, she still laughed. "Who cares?"

"I care," Logan iterated. He turned to his side, grabbed her hands, and asked, "Are you pregnant with his baby?"

Krissy burst out laughing. "Do I look prego, Logie Bear?"

"No, but a lot of girls don't start to show signs of pregnancy until they're a few months along," the future doctor in Logan replied. Medical talk sobered him up for a quick minute. A _very _quick minute. "You prego or no-no?"

"No-no," was her only reply.

"I gotta ask ya, Kris, I don't understan' your 'lationship with him. Are you guys dating or what?"

"No-no again. He's just my friend. Why? You wanna date me?!" she playfully shoved him away from her and then pulled herself right on top of his lap.

"No. I mean, not that you're undatable or anything. You're nice and pretty—"

"You think I'm pretty?! I think _you're_ pretty!"she interrupted him and squeezed her arms around his neck.

"I'm in a boyband, I'm supposed to be pretty. It's like a rule."

"What's it like to be in a boyband?" She moved off of him and sat next to him on his chair, her hands resting under her chin and her eyes staring at him with wonder, like being in a boyband was the most dreamy thing in the world.

"It's kinda lame," he told the truth. "Actually, I don't even like it that much. Like it's cool to sing and hang out with my buds, but I always wanted to be a doctor, to help people and do something great with my life. When you're in a boyband, you don't help people. You just sing, and sometimes they like the music and sometimes they don't. And I have to be pretty. And wear pants. I hate wearing pants."

"And you can wear one of those kaleidoscopes if you're a doctor!"

Logan stared at her for a minute. Then he realized what she meant. "I think you mean stethoscope," he deadpanned, then burst into laughter. She followed his laughter.

"What's so funny over here?" a familiar voice slurred and the two laughing young adults looked to see Paul. He sat on Krissy's abandoned chair with a smile on his face.

"Not you. Go away." Seeing Paul seemed to sober Krissy right on up and she looked incredibly angry once again.

Before Paul could reply, Logan looked at him and asked his dying-to-be-answered question, "What's the deal with you and Kris? She doesn't tell me anything. And she's no-no prego."

Paul cocked an eyebrow, clearly not as drunk as the other two. "It's pretty personal. I told Krissy something she didn't agree with. No big deal, man." He gave Logan a smile of reassurance, slightly glancing at Krissy, as if afraid to answer for her sake.

"Because you're an idiot. Go away. We don't want you here. Don't you have better things to do than bother us all night?"

Paul let out a frustrated sigh as he answered, "You're acting like a child, Kris."

Krissy ignored him and stood, taking Logan with her by the arm. "Stay away from me and stay away from Logan. We don't want to be friends with you anymore," she stated with a glare toward Paul, before dragging Logan back inside the house.

Logan nervously glanced back at Paul, to see him with a strong and determined, yet sad look on his face. It almost looked like a look of pity.


End file.
